Fiji Pineapples
p. 54 · Read in the full issue
CSR Getting Ready to Restore Good Pre-war Industry
rpHOSE who believe that there is a good A future for the pineapple industry in Fiji are watching, with eagerness, the resumption of pineapple planting by the CSR Co. on its estates at Nadi, where supplies are grown for the large canning factory at Lautoka. „ The company, in 1936, acceded to the Government’s request that it should try to establish the pineapple canning indus try. It bought out the interests of the two local canning companies (Fijian Pineapple Co., of Ovalau, and West Coast Pines, Ltd., of Nadi). The Government wished to give farmers a chance of grow ing a cash crop, other than sugar.
The company built, at Lautoka, a can nery with a capacity of some hundreds of thousands of cases per annum; and then, to show the way to the small farm ers, it began to grow pineapples at Nadi, some 15 miles away.
In growing, canning and marketing, between 1936 and 1941, the company had remarkable success. It gathered 448 tons of fruit in 1938/9; by the summer of 1941 its crop was 2,578 tons. Its field staff lifted production from 5i tons to 16 tons per acre. It found good markets in Europe, North America and New Zealand.
It was disappointed, however, in the response by small growers. The belief that the Indian farmers would gladly take advantage of this profitable alterna tive cash crop was not justified—the Indian stuck to his cane-growing, and his political and economic grievances, and made little concerted effort to help himself, per medium of the new industry.
The outbreak of the Pacific War crippled the industry, because the com pany—apparently because it was new in the industry and had not established a “quota” in tinplate—could not get suffi cient material for canning. Also, great air and military forces came to the good aerodrome country at Nadi, and placed encampments right upon the pineapple farms. Also, there was only restricted shipping space.
The few Indians who were beginning to show some interest abandoned their crops; the company reduced its opera tions to some 500 to 600 tons per annum —just enough to keep the machinery moving—and everyone marked time. The company sold pineapple juice in jars to the forces.
The company now is making prepara tions to resume canning as soon as sup plies of fruit and tinpate are available; and, if the developments of the 1938-1941 period are any indication, the industry should make rapid strides.